In the November edition of The Maine Monitor Radio Hour, Report for America corps member Daniel O’Connor discusses his reporting on the budget crisis in Washington County and the Maine school districts that have voted to change policies around transgender students.
O’Connor covers rural government as part of a partnership between The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News.
Earlier this month, Washington County voters rejected an $11 million bond meant to help dig out of a budget crisis. The county is reeling from years of budget mismanagement and poor bookkeeping that drained cash reserves almost entirely this summer, forcing officials to take on extra short-term debt.
O’Connor has been closely monitoring the county’s approach to the crisis. On this episode, he discusses what he has been able to find out about the problem’s origins and what’s on the table as the county tries to move forward.
O’Connor also talks about his reporting on the groups pushing Maine school boards to change transgender policies, including Parents’ Rights in Education (PRIE) Maine, a Topsham-based chapter of a national nonprofit that helps train and advise school board candidates across the state, and the Maine Education Initiative (MEI), a project run by firebrand former Rep. Heidi Sampson (R-Alfred).
The groups have urged parents across Maine to turn out to their local school board meetings and push for policy changes they see as necessary to protect female students. So far this year, at least eight school districts have changed their policies regarding transgender students. Activists connected to PRIE and MEI were involved in each decision.
You can listen to the episode here. Tune in to listen live the first Thursday of every month at 4 p.m. on WERU 89.9 FM.
